Kansas
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900) Kansas is a state within the United States of America. It also was the chosen home that L. Frank Baum placed his iconic character named Dorothy Gale and her little pet dog named Toto in when he wrote his first Oz book titled 'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz' which was published in 1900. In The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the story opens up with the first chapter titled The Cyclone which introduces the reader to the antagonist Dorothy who stays on a small farm in the mist of the great Kansas Prairies. She lives a rather isolated, dull and joyless life as an orphan child with her Uncle Henry who was a seemingly poor farmer and her Aunt Em who was the farmer's Wife. The three of them lived in a one room farmhouse made of wood. One random day a big storm came, bringing a cyclone with it. Uncle Henry and Aunt Em we're lucky enough to get into the storm cellar in time, but Dorothy was not fast enough to join them as Toto who was frightened by the cyclone, jumped out of her arms and ran under her bed. Thus, being swept up in the prairie farmhouse that was carried by the winds and ultimately taken to the magical Land of Oz. After Dorothy had many fantastical adventures in Oz and made many unforgettable friends, she eventually returned home to Kansas in the end where she belonged. Dorothy would return to Oz from time to time and when Uncle Henry and Aunt Em we're facing foreclosure on the farm, they all immigrated to Oz to live in the Royal Palace of Oz within the Emerald City with Dorothy's best friend the lovely Princess Ozma of Oz. Thus, leaving the stressful and bleak existence on the Kansas farm behind to live happily ever after in Oz. Dorothy is now an official Princess of Oz and her dog Toto, and her Uncle and Aunt are very well taken care of. The Wizard of Oz 1939 Munchkins (1939) In the 1939 film, Kansas is a colorless world as everything is seen in a brownish sepia tone. Dorothy with Toto live there with Aunt Em, Uncle Henry, Professor Marvel, the three farm-hands named Hunk, Hickory, and Zeke. Also there is the mean spirited Miss Almira Gulch. All of the Kansas characters besides Aunt Em and Uncle Henry have counterparted-alter egos in the Land of Oz. Journey Back to Oz 1974 Journey Back to Oz (1974) In the all star cast animated sequel to the 1939 film titled Journey Back to Oz, Dorothy Gale and Toto are swept away from the farm once again and taken to Oz. Dorothy is voiced by Judy Garlands' daughter Liza Minnelli. In this movie, despite being a sequel to the 1939 film, Kansas in not in sepia tone of black and white. Return to Oz 1985 Nome King (1985) In Disney's 1985 Cult Classic Return to Oz, the film opens up with an insomniac Dorothy Gale, who has now been back from Kansas circa six months. However, the Kansas farm is in a state of despair due to the tornado that hit the prairie in the first story. The Kansas scenes were actually shot in Britain. In the end of the film Uncle Henry has finished building a brand new farm house to replace the new one that had been swept away to Oz. Oz the Great & Powerful In Disney's 'Oz the Great and Powerful' everything is set about 20-30 years before Dorothy Gales' story takes place. In this film a pre-Wizard by the name of Oscar is a phony Magician working at a carnival fair in circa 1900 Kansas. He is swept away to Oz via cyclone. Legends of Oz, Dorothy's Return 2014 In Legends of Oz, Dorothy and Toto are now back in Kansas with Aunt Em and Uncle Henry who are devastated by the state of destruction the twister has left the small town they live in.